Bruce Ireland is a snake wrangler based in Southern California. He recently came across a rarity—a rattlesnake “set on silent.” Although Ireland doesn’t give away what exactly is off about this snake in the caption, causing many people in the comments section to make guesses, he gives away the answer in a comment reply. (Skip ahead to the video if you want to try to make a guess for yourself.) Otherwise, keep reading: The rattlesnake in Ireland’s video is missing its rattle.
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“This is wild to see,” Ireland wrote in his Instagram post sharing the video.
Of course, it’s not obvious, because the snake is wildly waving its tail and somehow making a hissing noise that sounds kind of like a rattle (at least at first).
“Notice anything?” Ireland writes in a text overlay as the video begins. Then, he zooms up on the tail and asks, “How about now?”
What’s wrong with this snake? Watch here:
A Rattlesnake Missing Its Rattle
As you can see, the snake’s tail isn’t tipped with the loose scales that are typically responsible for a rattlesnake’s trademark rattling sound. But Ireland confirms in a comment reply that it is, in fact, a rattlesnake. No one knows what happened to the snake’s tail, and Ireland doesn’t make a guess beyond a hashtag that says #injury.
Did you spot what made this snake unusual right off the bat?
Header stock image by DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)/Getty Images